The Watchmen

It's obviously difficult to adapt a beloved written (and, in this case, drawn) work for the big screen — and it’s downright impossible to make an adaptation that satisfies every viewer (or certainly every megafan). I truly enjoyed reading the comic book series Watchmen by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, and having seen the film adaptation, I don't dislike it. It's probably the best we could have asked for as far as adaptations go. And I know it's useless now to say that the work should never have been brought to film in the first place (though I do feel that way), so now that it has been made into a movie, is it any good? From a fan's perspective I say, sure, it's fine. But I don't have any other perspective to go by.

I have no idea how this movie comes across to someone who has never read the comic book series. I can't even pretend to be unbiased about this — as a fan, just seeing these characters come to life is incredibly exciting. But as a standalone movie, I can admit that it's probably not great. Essentially, it's made for the fanboys (and fangirls) and other viewers may not understand or like it. It's campy, sometimes resembling a silly soap opera, and truthfully I am hard-pressed to remember any distinct images or scenes from the movie, just a few days after seeing it. It's certainly temporary entertainment, and for some it may be frustrating to watch. For more about the movie and my take, read more

The dispute over Watchmen won't be handed down by a judge next week after all. Fox and Warner Bros. have reached a settlement and will request that the case be dismissed. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the deal is said to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film's boxoffice grosses; Fox will not be a co-distributor on the film, nor will it co-own the Watchmen property, but it will share in revenue derived from it.

The best news of all, though, came in a joint statement the companies released:

Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film's March 6 release in theaters.

Hooray!

Images courtesy of Warner Bros.

It's like the world is watching the Watchmen today with the arrival of a pretty juicy Japanese trailer for the movie (check it out after the jump) and the news that a ruling regarding the movie's release date will come on Jan. 20. Here's more:

In court papers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, attorneys for Fox and Warner Bros. jointly said they would let the judge decide Jan. 20 whether Fox could block the film's theatrical distribution, now scheduled for March 6, as Fox has been seeking all along as part of its copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros.

Fingers (and toes and eyes and anything else) crossed that the end result will be a March 6 release. For now, there's a new Japanese trailer online and it's pretty intriguing. There's more footage, and most notably we get a glimpse of the politically-themed parts of the story (we see Nixon and get a sense for the political atmosphere). Of course, it is in Japanese, but it's just as absorbing (if not more so) than any of the previous trailers. To check it out, read more

OK, I'll admit it: When I first saw the teaser trailer for Watchmen, I didn't really get it. I liked the look of it and I think the use of that Smashing Pumpkins song "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" is inspired. But I didn't understand what was going on, unfamiliar as I was with the source material. Well, I decided to become familiar with the source material and now that I have, I'm a wee bit obsessed. To find out why and to see a new trailer, read more

Yeah, another dispatch from Comic-Con today but I just had to share because I attended the panels for Watchmen (see: photo below) and The Spirit today and both were so exciting. The one for Watchmen in particular was not only coolest in terms of the footage we got to see, but also because of the funny, laid-back vibe of the panel. I think Zack Snyder with his friendly, boy-next-door ways pretty much set the tone for that.

More on that later. First, some thoughts on Frank Miller's film version of Will Eisner's The Spirit:

• There are two things that I really loved about The Spirit footage we saw and the panel itself. For one, the movie truly looks like a comic book, and it's a lot of fun to watch. Jaime King described it as visually "intoxicating," which I could see. Secondly, Samuel L. Jackson was at the panel and he was a great interviewee. He chuckled when the topic of his Spirit character's Nazi costume came up. "That was awesome. I was a Nazi! Nick Fury became a black skinhead."
• That said, there was something about both the movie and the panel that was a little empty and detached. Miller completely admits that if a woman is in his movies, she's gonna be hot and wearing tight clothing. And that's fine. His choice, etc. But there's a line between making an artistic choice and objectifying women, and Miller skates that line.
• Finally, there's the issue of the Spirit himself, played by Gabriel Macht. I think Macht is an incredibly cute guy. And the character of the hero of the film is an important one to cast. On this topic, Miller mentioned that Hollywood has many fine male actors, but "not many men." Which is why, he says, we hold onto the Bruce Willises and Harrison Fords and Clive Owens (his examples, all). And then. . . he chose Gabriel Macht to be his manly hero? I thought the footage they showed us from the movie would explain this a little more, but not so. Onscreen as the Spirit, Macht is likable and funny and cute, but he's not the heroic "man" that Miller referenced earlier, which struck me as odd.

For some of my thoughts on Watchmen sneak peek, read more

Friday was another busy day at Comic-Con in San Diego, and Team member Phasekitty is again offering up her reports from the floor. Be sure to check out all of her blogging about the event. Here are a few highlights:

• At the "Reaper" panel, Phasekitty got to hear Kevin Smith talk about his role in directing one of my favorite pilots for the CW. You should really just read Phasekitty's full report from the panel, but a couple of highlights: She saw the re-shot pilot with Missy Peregrym (a newer version than I've seen) and learned that Smith has two upcoming film projects scheduled back-to-back starting in January.




• Remember that teaser for Get Smart I posted a little bit ago? Well, at the Warner Bros. panel, Phasekitty got to see the whole thing. She writes: "It shows more of the cast and gives us a taste of the physical comedy and action. Also we get to see a lot more of Anne Hathaway's character, Agent 99, previously only briefly seen in the teaser."
• There was also an update on Watchmen, where Phasekitty says fans seemed pleased so far. Cast members Jackie Earle Haley and Malin Ackerman joined the panel where, Phasekitty says, "they mostly talked about how they planned to do the source material justice and how they hoped that if Alan Moore ever sees it he wouldn't hate it too much."
• The New Line Cinema panel featured three of the action sequences for Shoot 'Em Up, the Clive Owen film out in September. Phasekitty says: "It is some of the most exciting action I've seen in a long time; very similar to the Transporter series, though with a new comedic element. Clive Owen's character is protecting a woman and a child from a hit man (Paul Giamatti), and spends most of the action sequences out-shooting people with one hand and carrying the infant baby in the other."

More goodies, including updates on the new Michel Gondry film and the Star Wars episode of "Family Guy," so read more

300 director Zack Snyder's next project is Watchmen, an adaptation of the 1980s comic book series by Alan Moore. For many weeks there have been rumors going around about who, exactly, we'd be watching in Watchmen (Keanu Reeves? Jude Law?) and now that the cast has been finalized, I am even more excited for this project. Patrick Wilson! Billy Crudup! Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who I love! This is fantastic. Variety has details:

"Watchmen" has taken decades to get off the ground. Based on Alan Moore's 1980s comicbook series, the adaptation will be set in an alternate 1985 with plenty of Cold War overtones.

Crudup will play the fatalistic Dr. Manhattan, a role Keanu Reeves once eyed, while Wilson will portray Night Owl, a rich kid interested in birds. Morgan has been cast as the Comedian, a Vietnam vet who's a member of the Minutemen. [Jackie Earle] Haley and [Malin] Akerman round out the cast as Rorschach, a vigilante, and Silk Spectre, the key femme role.

Malin Akerman is the lone female so far who gets to hang out with all the boys after her Ben Stiller comedy The Heartbreak Kid opens this fall. Lucky lady.

Billy Crudup photo source
Other photos source

Though 300 wasn't exactly a great movie, it was unlike anything I've seen on the big screen, which is why I'm excited to see what director Zack Snyder and the rest of the 300 gang will do next. Not surprisingly — given the movie's massive box-office success — most everyone involved in 300 has some very cool projects coming down the pike. Here's a look at what's brewing.

A 300 Sequel? Maybe

When a movie makes this much money, it doesn't take long for people to say "sequel." But director Zack Snyder says that issue should be taken up with Frank Miller, the graphic novelist behind the 300 source material. In a very geeky interview conducted in the virtual world of Second Life, Miller said he is talking to Warner Bros. about the possibility:

"I do know exactly what the sequel would be," Miller responded with a chuckle. "But I'll say to you the same thing that I've said to the people at Warner [Bros.]: That's all anybody gets without paying."

Snyder, meanwhile, is working on another project for the studio; for the details, read more